Frequently Asked Questions

Who are you guys, anyway?

ICly, the Firstwatch Irregular Company is a strange, multi-racial business with a wildly altruistic bent. Their interests lie in just about anything that can serve the people of Lion’s Arch while also making a little profit on the side. This complicated goal means they’ll hire anyone that is willing to put their talents to use – mercenaries, scientists, capitalists, and crafters.

OOCly, FIC is a medium-heavy roleplay guild dedicated to two things: 1) high-quality, frequent roleplay, and 2) a strong, tight-knit, friendly membership that loves to have fun together. The guild’s core has been together for over four years and our GW2 incarnation has been creating roleplay for the GW2 universe since May of 2011. (You might have known us in other games as well: La Compagnie des Iles Occidentales in PotBS, Legio XIX in Aion, or Sierra 3 in STO, to name a few.)

Where can I find FIC people roleplaying, and why?

While the company can be found all over Tyria for various profitable reasons, the bulk of its resources and attention are behind things that will benefit Lion’s Arch in some manner. One theater of operation stays squarely in the Lion’s Arch general area, helping to keep trade routes safe and investigating mysteries and threats as they appear.

Another group, codenamed the Mistwalkers, focuses on the Mist War. Their fight is a struggle for survival against a strange and unknowable foe, a profitable venture for collecting resources, and a chance to let the company’s colors fly high and proud among Tyria’s best. The work is high risk and high reward, if you live to collect at the end of the day.

One final group, led by the company’s champion, Kraddock Zealforge, has taken many of the company’s most tested fighters to Orr. While they may be far from their Lion’s Arch home, it’s clear that home may never be safe again if the dragon’s minions are not pushed back and away from the port city’s shores. While the Firstwatch leaves the dragon-fighting to the members of the Pact, they’re not afraid to do their part in the struggle by thinning out Risen forces wherever they might find them.

What makes FIC stand above the average roleplay guild?

• Frequent activities! – We run several events a week, 3-4 on average. We do PvE patrols, run dungeons, take towers in WvW, and sometimes just relax and RP. We believe in playing the game as well as roleplaying in it.
• Lore-abiding RP - While we don’t know everything about the GW2 universe, we believe in staying true to the source. Sometimes we use our imaginations to fill in the gaps, but we always correct and/or retcon if we discover that it’s not accurate to the lore. To us, the game is our framework, not just our inspiration, and we don’t keep things in our guild lore that isn’t in sync with everyone else in the community.
• A sense of humor – Our guild chat is OOC because we know if we’re laughing at our characters when they get emotional or make horrible choices, then we’re not taking them personally. We keep the IC drama to the IC *only* and have a grand old time doing it.
• Real friendships – This guild has been together for a long time and we treat our guildmates as a chosen family. Online, we’re there through thick and thin – we’re each other’s cheering section and shoulder to cry on, as necessary. We play games together other than our MMO, have movie nights, and nerd out about just about everything. In real life, we’ve attended each other’s weddings, been to Disney World, and hold meetups yearly. We’re not the kind of guild that dissolves in a few months after launch or is only there to RP with and never gets to know the person behind the monitor.

What are some things that we do not have in FIC?

• “Evil” faction characters – The Firstwatch is generally lawful neutral at worst and operates with a rather altruistic set of goals. Evil characters or characters with ties to evil factions, such as the Nightmare Court or Flame Legion, are not compatible with our concept. We want our characters to work together, not tear each other apart.
• God-modding, meta-gaming, or “Mary Sues” – Everyone makes mistakes, but we frown on habitually bad roleplay behavior and we always make it a point to call out and correct it when we see it. No one was born a great roleplayer, but we work hard to teach each other how to be a better one.
• “Erotic Roleplay” (ERP) – Not acceptable in any public form, ever, period! We don’t even want to hear that you’re participating in it. We don’t really care for “relationship drama” RP thematically – this isn’t the guild for that.
• Minors – FIC has an OOC age requirement of 18 years of age. Our members are free to behave, think, and talk like adults.